Child Reincarnation
by Temporarily in Hiding
Summary: After Sasori dies he finds out that he hasn't properly fulfilled his life, so he goes back into the world of the living as an eight-year-old boy who doesn't remember who 'Sasori' was. The Akatsuki take him in and he's made Deidara's problem. Yaoi later on
1. Am I Dead?

"I have a spy in Orochimaru's subordinates... I am supposed to meet... with him there..." The pain was too much, I collapsed onto the ground, welcoming death. I had lived a long life, I had done some pointless things, it was time for me to go. My conciousness faded, surronding me in darkness. _It's time for me to say goodbye..._

"Not yet, my little Sasori-kun."

I opened my eyes slightly, and then all the way, surprised at what I saw. Gone was my grandmother and that pink-haired bitch. Gone was the place where we had been fighting. Gone where all of my puppets. Instead I was surronded by... _white_. And standing a few feet in front of me was a women with long brown hair and dark brown eyes.

"Go ahead, stand up, you're not hurt."

I frowned, what was she talking about, I just got impaled through the heart. But all the same I tried to get to my feet, and, to my surprise, I succeeded. Once I was standing I turned to glare at the woman. "Who are you?"

She smiled, causing her eyes to glisten. "Why, you don't remember me, Sasori-kun?"

My frown deepened. "No, I can't say that I-" I took in a sudden gasp of air. "M-Mother?" The woman, my mother, nodded. "But, you're _dead_."

"So are you."

"Then why... ?"

"I'm here because _you_ haven't lived a full life."

I narrowed my eyes, uncertain of what she was saying. "What do you mean?"

"You have never loved someone, romantically or friendly. I'm here to give you a second chance."

"What-"

In a puff of smoke a mirror appeared in front of me. "Look at yourself, Sasori-kun."

I did so, and to my amazement I was... a child. Really, I looked about six or seven and I was wearing a horizantly striped shirt, purple shorts, and a matching baseball cap. For all I was worth I looked like a little boy on his way to school, I could almost see the lunchbox in my hand. "What the hell?"

"I'm sending you back into the world of the living as a seven year old boy so that you can find love, any kind will do, preferably both." I was only a year off. "You'll be left on the Akatsuki's doorstep, it's up to them wether they'll take you in or not-"

I crossed my arms. "Of course they'll take me in; I'm Akasuna no Sasori!"

My mother smiled again, but this time it was more of an amused smile; it made me uneasy. "Ah, but there's a catch, _they_ won't know who you are."

"I'll just tell them-"

"You won't know who you are, either."

"_What?_"

"When you're a child you'll have no memory of your old life-"

"_Why?_"

"except on a night with a new moon."

"Well, I suppose that's a little better-"

"And you'll think that your name is Maru."

"That's a boring name!"

"Too bad."

"But-"

"No buts."

"Mother-"

The next thing I knew she and the whiteness were both gone. _Oh great, I suppose I'll be forgetting everything no-_

--

An eight year old boy stood outside of the Akatsuki hideout, he didn't remember ringing the doorbell, but it rang loudly throughout the still night air. A blue, fish-like man answered the door, when he saw no one at eye-level he looked down. His cyan eyes widened slightly in surprise at the little boy. "Yes?"

"My name is Maru and I have nowhere to live."


	2. Meet the 'rents

"So what are we going to do about him, Pein?"

"We're going to take him in, of course."

Konan stared at Pein in surprise. "That's unusually merciful for you."

The leader of the Akatsuki shrugged. "I'm in a merciful mood."

"So then where's he going to stay?"

"With Deidara."

"Why?"

"Deidara's been kind of out of it since he heard that Sasori died, Maru might cheer him up."

"Whatever, _you're_ the boss."

Pein left his office and faced Maru. "It's been decided, you can stay." The little redhead didn't look very excited at the news. "I'll show you were you'll be staying." Pein started walking, but when Maru didn't follow him he stopped. _Remember, he is a child._ Pein reluctantly walked back and took his hand, leading him to Deidara's room. Once they were there Pein knocked on the door.

"What do you want, un?"

"Come to the door, Deidara."

There was a rustling sound as Deidara made his way to the front of his room and opened the door. "What do you want, un?" he repeated.

"Just came to drop this off." said Pein as he pushed Maru inside.

"What the-" but Pein was already gone. The blonde looked down at Maru. "So... who are you, un?"

"Maru."

"You know, you kind of look like..."

"Who?"

"Nevermind. Just... come on in, un." The boy walked in. "What, no belongings, un?" Maru shook his head, causing his red hair to fall out of place. "Well, uh, I guess you can sleep on the couch-"

"The _couch_? I think you could find a better place than _that_ for me to sleep."

Deidara frowned. "Don't be a smart ass, un."

"Ass? What does that mean?"

"Uh," _Oops, un._

"I'm going to keep saying it until you tell me. Ass, ass, ass, ass, ass, ass, ass-"

"SHUT UP!"

Maru smirked. "No. Ass, ass, ass, ass, ass, ass-"

Before Deidara realized what he was he doing his hand made it's way to Maru's face. Hard. "Ass. Donkey. Fool. Butt. It has several meanings, un."

The boy stayed silent, his cheek very red.

"Now, instead of sleeping on the couch I guess you can sleep in my bed, un." Maru still didn't move. With a sigh Deidara grabbed his arm and pulled him him into his room. Once inside he rummaged through his closet looking for some of his old clothes. "Here," he threw an old t-shirt and boxers at the redhead. "You can wear these to sleep, un." Maru hesitated before taking off his clothes and slipping on the bigger ones.

"Do I really have to sleep in the same bed as you?"

"If you don't want to sleep on the couch, un."

Maru frowned as he crawled into bed next to the man who had struck him. "Good night, Maru...kun." He grunted in reply. "Say good night back, un." Deidara's voice was stern.

"No!" Deidara pinched him. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Say good night, un."

"Humph!"

"Do it!"

"Good night, Deidara...sempai."


	3. You're a real Brat, un

When Maru woke up he felt something pressing against his chest, not very hard, but it still bothered him

When Maru woke up he felt something pressing against his chest, not very hard, but it still bothered him. He sleepily opened one eye and looked down to see an arm wrapped around him, well, two arms, actually. The two limbs belonged to Deidara, who, while he was sleeping, had grabbed the little redhead and held him like a child would a teddy bear. Maru struggled to get out of his grip, but at resistance the sleeping blonde tightened his hold. _It's time like this that I would like to have a blow horn handy... _But, instead of a blow horn Maru did the next best thing: he yelled at the top off his lungs. He turned to face Deidara, a triumphant grin plastered on his face, but that quickly faded when he saw that the blonde was still asleep. "Ass." he muttered.

Luckily, though, his yell had not gone completely unheard. Soon afterwards Hidan ran into the room, half awake with only his boxers on. "What the hell is it? What the fuck is wrong? Are you okay, Blondie? You better not be fucking dead, or I swear-"

"I've noticed."

"What?" Hidan glared at Deidara, but was surprised to find him still asleep. The Jashinist's eyes traveled downward and rested on the boy in his teammate's arm.

Maru struggled to get free again, but failed. "Help me?" Hidan still just stared at him. "Please?"

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Maru. Now could you please-"

"And what the hell is a kid doing in this Jashin forsaken place?"

"How should I know, ask that dude with the orange hair and piercings. Now could you just get him off of me?"

Hidan, who been rolling this information around in his mind, chuckled. "Fuck no."

"Then maybe you would like to tell me something."

"Like what?"

"Like how come you came running when you heard a scream coming from Deidara-sempai's room?"

Hidan's face flushed slightly. "That's none of your damn business."

"You seemed pretty concerned when you came in here. Is he your... boyfriend?"

"Hell no."

"Then maybe he's not your boyfriend, but you want him to be-"

"I'M NOT FUCKING GAY, DAMMIT!" Hidan's face had turned from pink to a very, very angry red; this kid was getting on his last nerve.

"Then why-"

"If you fucking _have_ to know, it's because... I was... worried about him-"

"So you're his _friend?_"

"-he's been kind of depressed lately, and I thought that he might've done something stupid like try and kill himself."

Maru turned to face the person that was holding him. "Deidara-sempai? Depressed?"

"That's what I fucking said."

"But, yesterday, he didn't seem depressed."

Hidan raised a silver eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? Then what the hell did he seem like to you?"

Maru was about to say 'angry,' but then he realized that if Deidara really _was_ depressed, then he'd try to mask it with another emotion. "Why is he depressed?"

"Cause his old partner, Sasori, got killed recently. In fact... you actually look a damn lot like..."

"Who?" Maru prodded, Deidara had said a similar thing yesterday. "This Sasori person?" Hidan nodded. "Oh. Well could you get him off of me now?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't fucking like you." Without so much as a goodbye, Hidan stalked off to another room.

"Ass." Maru muttered. "He didn't even tell me his name."

The redhead rolled over to face Deidara, who was still sleeping. This time, he tried whispering softly in his ear. "Deidara-sempai?" To Maru's surprise the blonde actually stirred. "Wake up." No response this time. "Uh, if you don't get up you'll, uh, oversleep and your hair will be a mess." It's the kind of thing Maru figured that a girl would respond to, but as soon as he said his hair would get messed up Deidara immediately opened his eyes, which happened to be only inches from Maru's. "Could you let go of me now?"

When Deidara noticed what position he and Maru where in he blushed and unwound his arms from around his chest. "Sorry, un."

Maru stared at Deidara a moment before grunting in return. _He doesn't look depressed._ "Say, Sempai, who's the ass with silver hair and bad language?"

Deidara wrinkled his nose at the mention of the sadist. "Hidan. When did you meet him, un?"

Maru was already getting out of bed and putting on his clothes from the day before. "About five minutes ago."

Deidara smirked as he was getting dressed. "And he already was an ass to you, un?"

Maru snorted. "Yea."

"Well, then, do yourself a favor, stay away from Hidan. He's a half-witted, sadistic, religious, potty-mouthed bastard."

The redhead cocked his head slightly. "So I take it you two aren't friends?"

"Not even if there was no one left on this earth, un."

"Interesting… Sempai?"

"Hmm?"

"Why does it say 'art is a bang' on your door?"

The blonde smiled at the chance to talk about his art. "Because it is, un. Just watch this." The bomb artist produced a small clay butterfly from the palm of his hand; Maru noticed that it came from a mouth on his hand. _Ew!_ It flew about a foot in front of Maru's face and then exploded, showering the carpet with ashes. Maru let out a little cry of surprise. "What was that?"

Deidara frowned, displeased with his obliviousness. "It's art, un. It lasts for a moment and then goes out with a bang, beautiful, un."

Now it was Maru's turn to frown. "That's stupid. What point is there if it's gone in a second? True art should last forever."

Deidara snorted. "That's exactly the kind of thing that Sa-" _sori-danna would say, un..._

"What?"

"Never mind."

"Whatever. Hey, Deidara-sempai?"

"What, un?"

Maru looked up at the older blonde, a slight frown on his face. "I'm hungry."

Deidara glared at the eight year old. "You know what, Maru?"

"What?"

"You're a real brat, un."

**A/N:**

Hello, readers! First, I would like to say thanks for reviewing! So… THANKS! Also, from this point in the story, it could either turn into yaoi or just friendship between 'Maru' and Deidara, but I can't decide!! So you're opinion would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! 


	4. Y’know, like déjà vu

Pein stood outside of Deidara's bedroom door until the blonde came back from breakfast with Maru. "Deidara. My office. Fifteen minutes."

Deidara looked down at the little redhead. "But, Leader-sama, what about-"

"Fifteen minutes." Pein repeated sharply before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Deidara let out a sigh as he entered his room, followed by Maru. "He can be such a bastard, sometimes, un."

Maru frowned slightly and tugged on Deidara's sleeve. "But, Deidara-sempai, what am I supposed to do while you go and talk with Mr. Piercing Dude?"

Deidara glared at Maru impatiently. "Leader-sama's name is Pein."

Maru rolled his eyes, equally impatient. "Fine. Whatever. But still, what am I supposed to do, just stay in your room?"

Deidara looked slightly horrified at the thought of leaving an eight year old boy alone in his room. "No. Why don't you go bother Hidan? He's the only other member you know, un."

"But, Sempai-"

The bomb artist wasn't listening, and instead started shoving Maru out of his bedroom. "Stay out of my room, un." Maru scowled as Deidara walked away hurriedly to Pein's office. _Well, I guess I'll take his suggestion and go and see what Hidan's up to. Now I wonder where his room is. . ._ To his surprise, as soon as Maru turned around there was another door marked with lots of blood and slash marks._ I guess that's as good as a place to check as any.  
_  
Maru pushed the door open, walking in on Hidan's seemingly empty room. "Hello? Hidan?"  
Maru took a step inside and his shoe made contact with a sticky substance, causing Maru to look down, immediately repulsed at what he saw. There was a large pool of fresh blood soaking into the carpet. His hazel eyes traced the blood to its source; a corpse lying in the middle of the floor. He couldn't but walk closer and lean over to inspect the body more clearly. Even under all the blood Maru could recognize Hidan's features. He chuckled to himself as he leaned closer to poke Hidan's arm.

The Jashinist's eyes immediately snapped open, accompanied by a scowl. "Get the fuck out of my face! Can't you see I'm busy, damnit?"

Maru recoiled in surprise. "Busy doing _what_? Suicide? Well, I'm sorry to inform you that it didn't work. You're still alive."

Hidan slowly moved into a sitting position. "I wasn't fucking trying to kill myself! I was doing a fucking ritual, for Jashin's sake!"

"Most fucked up ritual I've ever seen." Maru muttered under his breath, adding a new adjective he picked up from Hidan.

Hidan was on his feet in seconds, scythe in hand. "What'd you say 'bout my religion, fucker?" he snarled.

Maru put on his most innocent face and help up his hands. "Nothing. Honestly."

A snarl stayed plastered on his face, but Hidan withdrew his weapon. After a moment of intense glaring at the little boy he turned around to go sit on his bed. "What the fuck is it that you want, anyways?" he said as he removed his blood-stained pants (just his pants, perverts) and placed on a clean, fresh pair.

"Mr. Peirc- I mean, _Pein_ called Sempai in for a meeting and he told me to, ahem, 'go bother Hidan.'"

Hidan looked up from his scythe, which he was wiping blood off of with his already ruined pants. "Bastard! Why the fuck'd he do that?"

Maru's eyes started wandering around the room, taking in that complete mess that Hidan lived in. "I guess 'cause he didn't want to leave me alone in his room."

"Bastard." He repeated under his breath. To Maru he said, "So. . . Kid-"

"Maru."

Hidan rolled his eyes. "Fine. _Maru_, what the hell do you want to do now?" The question confused Maru, causing him to furrow his brow, and Hidan let out an exasperated sigh. "Deidara dumped you on me, right? So it's my fucking job to entertain you until his Jashin damned meeting is over. I mean, it's not like I could just fucking du-" Hidan's magenta eyes lit up as an idea struck him. "Hey, Maru, how'd you like to meet the other Akatsuki?"

Maru opened his mouth to say 'yes,' but Hidan had already grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the door. "We'll start with. . . Itachi!"

Maru pulled his arm from Hidan's grasp and stopped walking. "Who?" he demanded.

Hidan grabbed his arm again and resumed dragging him. "Uchiha Itachi," he said impatiently. "He's this prodigy from Konoha with a huge stick up his ass."

Maru once again pulled his arm from Hidan's grip and started walking beside him. "And you're taking me to see him because . . . ?"

"So I can fucking dump you on him! Don't worry, though. He's pretty damn nice . . . when it suits him." Hidan snickered at his own brilliant plan.

Maru frowned, but continued to follow the ninja in front of him. _Even if this Itachi person turns out to be unpleasant, there's no way that he can be worse than Mr. Stab-Myself-For-My-Religion, here._

They stopped in front of a black door with the paint peeling. Hidan banged on it noisily. "Uchiha! Open this door the fuck up right now or I swear-"

"You should check to see if someone is actually in their room before yelling senselessly at a door, dumbass."

Maru turned around to see the source of the monotone insult; a tall-ish man with long black hair and coal-like eyes.

Hidan's face brightened. "Itachi! Just the fucker I wanted to see!"

Itachi let out an exasperated sigh. "What is it that you want, Hidan?"

The Jashinist pushed Maru forward. "This little fucker here is Maru. He's your fucking problem now, bye!" And with those parting words, Hidan disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Itachi blinked and looked down at the boy that the masochistic man had left him with. "What're you doing here?"

Maru let out an exasperated sigh, almost exactly like the one Itachi had let out not one minute earlier. "Pein called Sempai in for a meeting and he told me to, ahem, 'go bother Hidan' 'cause he didn't want to leave me alone in his room and Hidan obviously doesn't want me to stay with him, either so he dragged me all the way over here so that he could dump me on you."

Itachi thought this over for a few minutes. When he was done he glanced back down at the little redhead. "Where're you from, Maru?"

Maru shrugged. "I dunno. Last thing I remember is standing in front of the Akatsuki base's door and knocking. 'Don't know how or why."

"Hn." Then another thought struck Itachi. "I thought that Hidan was doing his morning ritual about ten minutes ago."

"Yeah, he was. I walked in on him. So?"

Itachi seemed taken aback at the nonchalant-ness of Maru's tone. "_So_? I didn't here any screaming! You walked in on Hidan while he was pouring out blood from wounds that he caused himself! Doesn't that freak you out?"

Maru brushed off some dust from his shoulder, uninterested in the conversation. "No, not really."

"And why not?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. It was kinda like I've already seen that somewhere before. Y'know, like déjà vu."

Itachi skeptically looked Maru up and down. There was no way that this eight year old had seen Hidan's ritual before. A look of shock came over Itachi and then was quickly covered by his normally calm demeanor. "Has Deidara mentioned that you look a little like his old partner?"

Maru squirmed a little, not liking being under Itachi's gaze. "Deidara; no. But Hidan did."

"Hn. Maru, would you like to go and see Sasori-san's old room?"

"Uh, sure?"

Itachi then grabbed Maru's arm and started pulling him in a certain direction, presumably towards Sasori's room. Maru let out an irritated groan, even though Itachi had a considerably lighter grip than Hidan did. Although, Maru couldn't help but feel a little excitement, he was going to see Sasori's room, after all. Sasori; Deidara's old partner, the one that he got depressed over. Sasori; the one that everyone kept saying he looked like.

When Itachi finally stopped walking in front of a wooden door, perfectly polished, he leaned forward and turned the handle, opening the door.

Maru's eyes widened at what he saw. There, in the room, were a dozen or so puppets all sitting lined up against the wall. Maru took in their intricate detail, their craftsmanship, the complete beauty of it all. Maru gasped, inhaling a large amount of dust as he did so; no one had been in Sasori's room for at least three days.

He took a step inside, somehow knowing to watch his step for the trap that lay in the doorway. Once inside Maru had that feeling of déjà vu again, and he immediately rushed to the closet, opening it in one swift motion. Inside there were even more puppets, although these were slightly different than the beautiful people lining the room; these puppets had _weapons_!

Maru's hazel eyes glistened as he picked up the nearest puppet, which had razor blades sticking out of its arms along with various other dangerous object protruding from different places. He carefully ran his hand along the blades' edges, wiping off the dust. "Beautiful." He muttered.

"Almost like _art_, isn't it?" Itachi breathed, leaning over Maru (who was sitting on the floor in front of the closet).

Maru smirked. "_Exactly_ like art." He responded.

--

**A/N: Yayz! I finally updated this story! So, Itachi's not as ignorant as some people, ne? And just what exactly is Deidara's meeting with Pein about? You'll have to stay tuned to find out!! (lol, I just love saying that; 'stay tuned' XD) Oh! And the next chapter's gonna be in Deidara's PoV, just so you know.**


	5. Suicide attempt and a change of name

**A/N: Sorry it took so long for the update; I got an idea for a story in my head and I just **_**had**_** to start working on it. It'll be finished soon. 'Nyways, here's chapter 5 of 'Child Reincarnation.'**

--

I angrily stomped out of Pein's office. I couldn't believe this! They had the nerve to replace Sasori no Danna with that . . . that . . . idiot! I hate him! I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him-

My azure eyes grew wide. _S-Sasori no Danna's room . . ._ I had been very careful to leave Sasori's things the way they were and I would yell at anyone who so much as even looked at the door, but now the deceased puppet's bedroom door was wide open.

Seething, I swiftly made my way to the inside of the room. "OUT!" I yelled, not bothering to even see who was intruding on my master's room. "GET OUT! NOW!"

"But, Sempai-"

"NOW!" I repeated, ignoring the small voice of the boy.

"Deidara, you're being irrational-"

A loud growl erupted from my throat as I promptly pushed Maru and Itachi out of the room. "I SAID GET OUT!" I snarled.

Itachi placed his hand on my shoulder. "Deidara-"

I violently yanked the hand off of me. "DON'T TOUCH ME, YOU FILTHY UCHIHA! HOW DARE YOU GO INTO DANNA'S ROOM!"

There was a small whimper from close to the floor. "Sempai . . ."

I looked down at the small noise, and my features softened just a bit, but not enough to be noticed. This little eight year old boy that was looking up at me with a scared expression looked so much like my Danna (minus the expression, of course. Danna was never scared). My heart ached every time I looked at him. It wasn't fair, why couldn't I just move on like a regular person? Why did my stupid leader have to give me this eerily similar looking child?

But then the anger boiled up again. This little brat had disturbed Danna's possessions; his precious puppets. "Don't talk to me." I said quietly. Then I slammed the door shut, separating myself from the boy and the Uchiha.

I turned around without a word and starting putting Sasori's puppets _exactly_ where they were before they were disturbed, only one basic train of thought running through my mind. _Danna never liked anybody touching his puppets, un. He never liked anybody coming into his room, either. If he were alive he would've-_ I choked back a sob, my own words echoing solemnly in my head. _If he were alive. Which he isn't, un._ I shook his head, trying to clear the sadness that was quickly welling up inside of me, threatening to overflow. I failed, though, and streams of wetness soon ran down my face. I didn't realize that he was crying, however, until I tasted the saltiness on my lips.

I quickly finished replacing my master's figures, not wanting my tears to tarnish the carefully sculpted wood. When I was done I just sat there, on the carpet in front of Sasori no Danna's closet, and let all of my emotions overcome me. So what if I liked Danna more than I should have? The feeling was never mutual. If he saw me right now then he would probably just tell me to suck it up and get the fuck out of his room. I shouldn't be bawling like this over him. I shouldn't have to endure this. I shouldn't . . .

My one eye that was not covered with golden hair darted around the room until it finally rested on the leather pouch attached to my waist. _I don't have to endure this . . ._ Without thinking about it, my left hand moved downward, opened the bag, and enclosed itself around a large handful of clay.

--

Maru's mouth turned downwards and he tugged on Itachi's robe. "Itachi-sempai . . . is Deidara-sempai mad because of me?"

The Uchiha tilted his head so that he could look at the redhead, his face as stoic as ever. "Probably," he said in his monotone voice. "But once he calms down he'll realize that he's more mad at me then he is at you." There was a short pause before he added, "I guess I should've known better than to take you into Sasori's room."

"Then why'd you do it?"

"Because I was curious." Itachi said with a shrug.

Maru stood there in silence. He _wanted_ to ask Itachi what he was curious of, but before he could muster up the courage to do so a loud sob emanated from the other side of the door, followed by lots of sniffles and whimpers. Maru's hazel eyes widened. _Wow. So Sempai really IS depressed. I wonder what was so special about this 'Sasori' person that made Sempai _cry_ like that . . .  
_

"Itachi?" Maru asked, tugging on the older nin's cloak again.

"Hn?"

Maru tried his best to ignore the crying that was slowly turning into hysterics. "What was Sasori like?"

Itachi seemed to ponder this for a moment before responding. "He was an impatient, rude, sadistic ex-Suna nin that would always show Deidara much less respect than the blonde would show him."

Maru flinched at a particularly loud wail. "Then why . . . ?"

A spark of sympathy appeared in Itachi's usually dead black eyes. "There was always something incomprehensible about Deidara's feelings towards his Danna."

"Danna?" he squeaked, not expecting an answer. _There's that word again!_ Deidara had said 'Danna' earlier, too, and it had bothered Maru then, just as it did now, for some unfathomable reason.

All of the noise coming from Sasori's room suddenly ceased. "That can't be good." Itachi muttered under his breath.

Maru looked up at him, alarmed. "What do you mean?"

Itachi shook his head, slightly annoyed at the redhead's ignorance. "Deidara's specialty is _bombs_, Maru. If he's stopped crying then he's probably realized that there's a quick and easy way to end his problems."

Maru took in a quick gasp of air as what Itachi was saying finally dawned on him. "You . . . You mean Sempai's gonna . . . ?" Maru couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence.

Itachi barely had time to nod before Maru turned the knob and pushed open the door. What he saw was Deidara covered with little clay figures that were crawling over him and the blonde raising his two hands together.

--

I opened my mouth to say 'Katsu!' but the next thing I knew someone knocked me to the floor and pinned my hands above my head. It turned out to be Maru, who was currently straddling me (how odd that must've looked to anyone watching; an eight year old on top of a twenty year old whom he had pinned to the ground). "What are you doing, un?! Let me go!" I yelled.

His grip on my wrists tightened. "No."

I struggled, but it was useless. He had me. Shit. "I can't believe a stupid little brat like you pinned me to the floor." I mumbled. That was basically my way of conceding defeat.

Maru seemed to recognize that because he relaxed his hold and rolled off of me. I scowled as I sat up; all of my clay bugs had crawled away and I wouldn't be able to find them without blowing up half of the base. I turned my head to see Maru sitting two feet away, staring at me intently. "What?" I snapped. "Haven't you ever seen anybody about to blow themselves up before, un?"

His eyes widened for a second before he shook his head, his red hair swishing as he did so. Stupid hair. Why did it have to be the same color as Sasori no Danna's? "I was just thinking."

"About what, un?" I sneered at him. "How I'm a pathetic mess who can't get over a fucking puppet?" I was too upset to watch my language. Besides, Hidan had probably already said worse things than that.

Whatever he was about to say must've left him because he just sat there with his mouth hanging slightly open. "A . . . A _puppet_?" He finally asked.

"Yes," I chided. "A _puppet_. Sasori no Danna turned himself into a puppet so that he could be eternal, un." Then under my breath I added, "A lot of good that did him."

"A puppet." He repeated. "Wow."

"Is that a problem?" I said, getting angry again. There was nothing wrong with Danna being a puppet.

For some reason Maru smirked, reminding me again of Danna. "Nah. I mean, why _should_ I be surprised? All of you Akatsuki are freaks, why should Sasori be any different?"

Idiot. It's when he said things like that that made me want to slap him again. I crossed my arms angrily over my chest and turned away from him to face the slightly open door (a rather childish thing to do, I admit). "Yeah, well you'll be an Akatsuki, too, eventually. Then we'll see who the freak is, un."

I couldn't see his face, but he couldn't be that offended because he changed the topic with a question. "So what was your meeting about?"

"We're getting a new member to replace Sasori no Danna and he's going to be partner."

"Who?" Maru's tone suggested that this interested him.

"This idiot called Tobi," I snorted. "You wouldn't know him. And he's going to have to move into Danna's room . . . move in here." I choked on the last three words and, despite myself, a tear rolled down my cheek.

There was an awkward silence before Maru answered. "Couldn't he stay in your room, Sempai?"

"Leader wouldn't allow that with an available room open." That hyped idiot was going to end up throwing out all of Danna's things. Another tear came.

"I . . ." Maru's voice sounded awkward. "I could . . . I mean . . . you could move me into here, couldn't you? And then Tobi would have to stay with you, right?" I didn't answer, which probably led Maru to believe that I was angry at the idea, for then he started talking again with a nervous edge to his voice. "I-I wouldn't touch anything, I promise. Well, except for the bed, but that's to be expected. And even I did touch something I promise I'll put it back exactly where it was before and- "

"Alright."

" –I promise that I won't- wait, what?"

I rolled my eyes. "I said alright, un. Your idea is perfectly logical and I prefer you being in Danna's room to that . . . that . . . perky, skipping _thing_, un." I turned my head ever so slightly, just so I could catch a glimpse of Maru's reaction. He looked shocked for a moment before a huge grin spread. I wondered for a moment if that's what Danna's grin would look like.

"Really?" I stiffly nodded my head, and then immediately regretted it as Maru caught me in tight embrace. Some people might call it _glomping_ someone. "Thank you, Deidara-sempai!"

I rolled my eyes again. "Whatever." I muttered before pushing him off.

I got to my feet and then, as an afterthought, grabbed Maru's hand and pulled him up too. My mind flashed back to a similar situation with Danna, except I had been the one being helped off the ground. His hand was wooden and it had felt . . . odd. Nothing like Maru's smooth skin. At that thought I hastily let go of his hand and said, "Well come back to my room to get some clothes before you start living in here."

His big, brown eyes turned up to look at me. "But why can't I just- "

Anticipating the rest of his question I answered briskly. "Because I don't want you in Sasori no Danna's clothes."

He fell silent then and followed me out of Sasori no Danna's room where Itachi and Hidan were standing. For some reason Hidan breathed a sigh of what seemed like relief.

I ignored them and kept walking, preferring to be alone with my thoughts. I wondered if whether or not Maru would actually becomean Akatsuki member. I didn't see why not; Pein had obviously let Maru into the base for a reason and- wait a second, now that I think about it, I don't really know how Maru came into my care, only that Pein had just showed up at my door one day and had said 'just came to drop this off' before pushing the boy into my room. _Maybe I should ask . . . _but I quickly disregarded that thought. It was no business of mine what Maru was doing here. And besides, I had learned not to question the Leader's decisions long ago.

_Although I might have to argue about Tobi, un. As if that lollipop-headed freak could replace Danna. I'm just glad that he won't be ruining Danna's room with his goody-two-shoes presence. Although, I must admit that I'm going to miss that little redhead even though I've only known him for one day, un._

_Speaking of Maru, un, I wonder why he stopped me. He can't possibly care about me, can he? I thought that he'd only been calling me 'Sempai' as a formality, but I guess not, I mean, he charged into the room and-_

I felt my face flush as I remembered how he had ended on top of me and pinned me down, exactly as someone would've if they wanted to- I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. So what if he looked almost exactly like Danna? There was no way that he was Akasuna no Sasori. Besides, even if that were somehow possible, he's only eight, and I am no pedophile.

"Here, un," I said gruffly as I shoved a pile of clothes into Maru's arms. We had already made it back into my room and I had found my clothes from when I had first joined the Akatsuki at sixteen. They might be a little roomy for him, but I was short at that age so it shouldn't be _too_ bad.

Maru bowed slightly. "Thank you, Sempai," he said politely as he cradled the clothing in his arms and turned around to leave. However, when he got to the doorway he stopped. "Deidara-sempai?" He called back, sounding a little nervous. Odd.

"Yes, Maru-kun?"

"Would you . . . would you like it if . . ."

I sighed, getting a little impatient. "Would I like it if what, exactly?"

The little boy took in an unusually deep breath before responding. "Would you like it if I called you Danna?" he squeaked out.

I must say, I was completely shocked. This must be what Sasori no Danna had felt like when I had first called him Danna. Unlike Maru, I hadn't asked.

_I walked right up behind Sasori as he was working on one of his puppets. I think he had called it 'Hiruko.' I leaned in right next to his ear; he didn't feel my breath 'cause he was a puppet and puppet bodies don't feel _anything_._

"_How's your puppet coming along, un, Sasori no Danna?"_

_Sasori dropped the jar he was holding, spilling poison and shattered glass onto the floor. "What did you just call me, brat?" he seethed._

Under normal circumstances I would've laughed at the memory, but this was not normal circumstances.

"Why would ask me that, un?"

Maru shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably. "Well, you used to call Sasori Danna and I . . . I thought maybe . . . maybe it would make you happy if I called you Danna, Danna."

Well, he had already called me it once, so why not? "If you want to, un." I tried my best to shrug nonchalantly while still under shock. "Bye, Maru." I decided I would drop the suffix.

Maru hesitantly took a step forward. "Bye . . . Danna," he said before walking completely out of my view.

--

**A/N: Lol, isn't it funny how Maru was jealous of Sasori, and he is Sasori, so really he was jealous of himself? XD**

**Anyways, I want to know what y'all think of the mushiness that led up to Maru calling Deidara 'Danna,' if you would be so kind as to oblige.**

**Oh! I went to Magic Kingdom yesterday and you know what I thought? Well, you know how now there's now a suite in the Cinderella Castle? Well, how hot would it be if (insert your favorite pairing here) had sex in **_**the**_** Cinderella Castle?! I'll tell you: TOTALLY HOT!!**

**My last words to my readers for now are; You've lost the game. Farwell!**


	6. The theory of the Uchiha revealed

Maru rolled around in his bed restlessly, trying to succumb to sleep and failing. There was an uncomfortable draft in the late puppet's room and his too-big-for-an-eight-year-old clothes didn't help that situation any. For some reason he began to think of how he'd prefer to once again be in the same bed as Deidara, the blonde's body heat warming him. Then the redhead chuckled to the darkness as a thought struck him. _I wonder if 'Tobi' ended up sleeping with Danna, too._

A smile graced his lips as he turned onto his side, finally falling into the blissful abyss that is sleep.

--In another room--

Hidan stared blankly at Itachi. "So . . . you think that Maru is Sasori." He stated dryly.

"Yes." Itachi confirmed, nodding his head.

"How the _fuck_ is that possible?"

The Uchiha didn't have much of a defense in mind, so he simply shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted. "But what I do know is that he _does_ look strikingly similar to Sasori, correct?"

Hidan slowly nodded his head. "Yeah, but so what? Deidara looks a hell of a lot like this one bitch in Konohagakure, but they're not the same fucking person, are they? No. They're not."

Itachi chose to ignore the Jashinist's snide comment. "And," he continued. "He wasn't at all freaked out by your 'ritual.' When I asked him about it later he said 'It was kinda like I've already seen that somewhere before. Y'know, like déjà vu.' _Déjà vu_, Hidan! Sasori had plenty of time to get used to your bloody religion!"

"Sure," Hidan snorted. "When he was fucking _alive_."

Still ignoring him Itachi said, "Plus you should've seen the way he looked at those _puppets_! It was like they were the most beautiful things that he'd ever seen! He used that exact word, by the way; 'beautiful.' And when he found the ones with weapons he had gotten this glint in his eye. You know where else I've seen that glint before, Hidan?"

The addressed rolled his eyes. "Lemme guess, Sasori?" Itachi nodded, causing Hidan to let out a frustrated sigh. "Look, Itachi, I see the resemblance and all, but there is _no fucking way_ that Maru could be Sasori reincarnated. It's just fucking impossible!"

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Does the Jashin religion have no history of reincarnates? None?"

Hidan swore under his breath; the Uchiha had him there. "Dammit, how'd you know?"

Itachi simply gave him a knowing smirk, completely succeeding in pissing Hidan off.

Said Jashinist leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms in a huff. "Okay, let's say, hypothetically, Maru _could_ be Sasori reincarnated. There's still no fucking way that he is!

Itachi mimicked Hidan's posture. "And why not?"

"Because Maru acts nothing like Sasori! That red headed fucker would always go around and be all emotionless and crap and get pissed off by the most retarded things! Maru's nothing like that! He actually shows some _respect_ for Deidara, unlike that damned puppet." Hidan calmed down a bit and downcast his eyes. "I dunno . . . Maru just seems too . . . too _human_ to be Sasori."

"Well," Itachi said matter-of-factly. "When Sasori was alive he _was_ a wooden puppet. Reincarnated he's just a regular human like he was before the transformation."

" . . . Why tell your theory to _me_, anyways?" Hidan asked finally, purposely avoiding Itachi's observation.

"Because," Itachi said softly. "You seem to be the only other person concerned about Deidara's emotional stability around here."

Hidan's body stiffened visibly. _And here I thought that I was cleverly hiding my concern._ "What's that have to do with Maru being Sasori?"

Itachi raised both of his eyebrows in amusement. "So you agree?" Hidan grunted in response, earning a broad, triumphant grin from the Uchiha before he answered Hidan's question. "Well, I think that the reason Sasori was reincarnated in the first place has something to do with Deidara."

Violet eyes stared blankly at black ones. "You lost me."

The sharingan wielder let out an impatient sigh. "It was no coincidence that Maru got put in Deidara's care. It's obvious that whoever is running things here on Earth wanted them to be together."

Hidan stared at Itachi even more, although it was more of a bewildered stare this time. "You mean . . . you think that they're meant to . . . be together as in . . . like . . . a . . . a . . . a couple?"

Itachi shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, yeah. And I think that since Sasori didn't realize that when he was alive, They gave him a second chance."

"As a fucking eight year old." Hidan said, returning to his dry tone.

Itachi rubbed the back of his head and if Hidan hadn't known him better then the Jashinist would've sworn that the Uchiha was embarrassed. "Actually . . . I haven't really figured out the age thing yet. But it could be just because They didn't want anyone to recognize him."

"Who is this 'they' that you keep fucking mentioning?"

Itachi shrugged. "Angels? God? I don't know."

Hidan pressed his lips into a straight line, mulling this over in his head. "Well Itachi, I hate to admit this, but I think you're right."

Itachi smiled at the acknowledgement of his genius, but that quickly faded when Hidan asked him a question that he had not anticipated.

"So if the reason why Maru, _Sasori_, is here is because he didn't realize his . . . love . . . for Deidara what happens when he realizes that now? Does he continue living the rest of his life? Does he turn back into his pre-dead, twenty-something year old puppet self? Or does he, like, fucking die or some shit like that?"

Itachi frowned, wrinkles forming on his forehead. "I . . . I don't know, Hidan."

The two S-ranked criminals both stayed silent as a fear of the super-natural and the unknown settled into the dimly lit room.

--Deidara's PoV--

_Dammit. That stupid idiot bothered the shit out of me all day and now, when it's night and I'm trying to sleep, he talks in his fucking sleep! That's just _great_, un._

I was regretting allowing Tobi to sleep with me in my bed and I was even beginning to think that I should've made him sleep out in the hallway.

"Bastard." I grumbled as I shoved my blanket off of me and rolled off of the bed. There was no way that I was going to get any sleep with that orange-masked idiot babbling only inches away.

Without thinking about it I found myself standing in front of Sasori no Danna's old bedroom- Maru's new one. It was a logical place to end up, considering that I used to go to Danna's room all the time when I couldn't get to sleep. He was always awake, sitting at a desk and working on one of his puppets. That is, except for one time when I had caught him with a lump of clay . . .

(flashback time! ;D)

_I knocked on the perfectly polished wood and listened to the solid sound that it made. I waited a total of two minutes in silence before I decided that Danna wasn't going to answer._

_**What **__can__** he be doing? I know he's not asleep, un. I mean, he **__can't__**. Puppets don't sleep.**_

_I quietly opened the door a few centimeters, and then all the way when I saw what Sasori was doing._

"_Danna!" I exclaimed, surprised._

_Sasori's head snapped up and he whirled around to look at me, hiding something behind his back. "Brat! What are you doing here? Haven't I told you before not to just barge in?"_

_I took a step back nervously. "I, um, I knocked, un."_

_Danna narrowed his eyes at me. "So what do you want?"_

_I fidgeted a little under his gaze. I hated when he got like this. "I . . . I couldn't get to sleep, un . . ."_

_His glare just intensified. "So why come to me, hmm?"_

_I looked down at the space between my feet. Danna normally wasn't so snappish when I came during the night. Usually he would just let me sit on his bed and watch him work until I fell asleep as long as I didn't make any noise. "I . . . I-"_

_Danna snorted. "Just leave, brat. Now."_

_I was just about to do as he said when I remembered what I thought I had seen him working on. "Hey, Danna, un, were you just working with clay?"_

_His muddy eyes widened. "N-No! What would give you that ridiculous idea? Clay is a waste of space, subject to change just like everything else that isn't my art."_

_I grinned at his obvious denial. "Curious as to what I like about, eh?"_

_Sasori glared at me for a moment before sighing in defeat and turning around to face the clay. "Fine. You caught me. I was trying to make something out of your stupid clay, but it's just too damn _hard!_"_

_I laughed when I saw the oddly misshapen attempt at a person sitting on the desk at the far end of the room. I walked over beside Danna and placed my hands on his to show him how to mold the clay. "You were going about it all wrong. You do it like _this_, un . . ."_

I chuckled fondly at the memory before I realized that I was still standing in a hallway in front of my dead partner's room at one in the morning. I instinctively reached for the door but then hesitated.

I mean, what could I possibly want to do in there? Maru was most likely already asleep and even if he wasn't I couldn't just waltz in there and ask to sleep with him because my own room had become too noisy for my liking. That would just be stupid.

But at the same time I couldn't go back to my room. That would be suicide.

I let out a long yawn as I slowly slid to the floor. _Wow, I guess I'm more tired than I thought. Maybe . . . maybe I could just sleep out here in the hallway. That doesn't . . . seem like such a . . . a bad . . . idea._

My incoherent thoughts became a jumbled mess as I succumbed to sleep just outside of Danna's old bedroom, snoring slightly.

--

**A/N: So what do you think of Itachi's theory? Very clever, neh? Well, he **_**is**_** an Uchiha. So review and tell me what you think, 'kay? Oh, and next chapter I'm either going to have Deidara visit the place where Sasori died or have Maru go through Sasori's stuff and find a journal or something . . . or perhaps a mixture of the two.**


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